X!
welcome to senior status!!! thanks for sharing your experience with all of us, as ive mentioned before, this thread has helped me out a ton over the last few months.
congrats!
Agree with nightmare4d 
Thanks, guys! nightmare, will you teach me the secret handshake?
xlr8
congrats xlr8.
Sunday 05.04.03
Had to miss the football game because of family commitments, worse news, my team lost without me!
Monday 05.05.03
Rainy, ugly day outside. Stayed in for gym work, upped my olympic lifts to make up for lack of sprinting.
Weights
-hang snatch 80% 5r x 2s
-snatch 80% 3r, 95% miss, 90% 1r, 2r, 1r, 85% 3r
-squats (touch and go to bench depth) 80% 3r, 90% 2r, 85% 3r, 90% 2r, 85% 4r
-bench 45% 15r, 65% 13r, 60% 14r (working on endurance for the combine rep test.)
-SLDL 80% 6r x 3s
-low rows 80% 6r, 90% 3r x 2s
EMS
10r x 10s each - abs, low back, glutes, hamstrings, quads, feet
Recovery
-contrast shower
Tuesday 05.06.03
Tempo
-5r x 3s, 100m @ 65%
Recovery
-Whirlpool 15min
-Contrast showers
Wednesday 05.07.03
Rest. Tired and wiped out, didn’t get good sleep last night.
Thursday 05.08.03
Speed day!
Sprints
-20yd 2r @ 100%
-30yd 4r @ 100%
-50yd 3r, 1r easy acceleration, full speed for last 10yds
-30yd 4r @ 100%
All done with 3 min rest between reps, 5 - 7 min between sets.
Good speed, my interval times were among my best ever. Not enough time for my weights today…pushing them to tomorrow. Yes, I know, 2 CNS days in a row is bad, but I have the whole weekend to recover (no athletic activites planned.)
Friday 05.09.03
Woke up a bit sore from all of the speed work yesterday, but loosened up ok
Weights
-power clean 80% 3r, 85% 2r, 90% 1r x 2s, 85% 2r
-squat (touch and go, bench depth) 85% 3r, 90% 2r, 95% 2r x 2s, 90% 3r
-bench 75% 5r x 3s, 2 min rest between sets.
-pullups 6r x 2s
-SLDL 80% 6r x 3s
EMS
-same as Monday
Recovery
-contrast showers
Saturday 05.10.03
Rest and recovery.
Hi xlr8! I have just joined this forum. I am an amatuer “american” footballer fom Scotland, UK. The amount of training you have just described is INCREDIBLE! Scotland is obviously a bit of a back water where the gridiron is concerned (apart from the NFLE Scottish Claymores) The side I play for (Edinburgh Wolves) train once per week (3 hours on a Sunday) and thats it! I have tried to get the guys into conditioning programmes over the last 18 months, but without a great deal of success. Its nice to see someone commited to hard work, and the pursuit of a dream!
It takes courage to have a dream, and determination to make it come true.
its great to hear about “american” footballers in places outside the USA.
I am hoping that in the near future interest in the sport will expand globally and present players with more career options to play, like the vast career options for sports like soccer,baseball, and basketball!
(always been a dream of mine to play for the claymores!)
Originally posted by ali_p83wr
Hi xlr8! I have just joined this forum. I am an amatuer “american” footballer fom Scotland, UK. The amount of training you have just described is INCREDIBLE! Scotland is obviously a bit of a back water where the gridiron is concerned (apart from the NFLE Scottish Claymores) The side I play for (Edinburgh Wolves) train once per week (3 hours on a Sunday) and thats it! I have tried to get the guys into conditioning programmes over the last 18 months, but without a great deal of success. Its nice to see someone commited to hard work, and the pursuit of a dream!It takes courage to have a dream, and determination to make it come true.
Thanks ali! All of the hard work and training hours are worth it when you make a great cut, break into the open and leave everyone else behind. However, your experience with teammates in not atypical for those of us in the US either. Most of my team’s training consists of either bodybuilding or 12 oz curls 
Good luck!
I would love to see the sport go global! And apologies for calling it AMERICAN football! Just used to people looking strangely at me when I say I play football, when im carrying my lid and pads!
And xlr8, here was me thinking every American player was an All-Pro when it came to working out!
Looking forward to hearing more about the training you have been doing! Its been inspirational (sorry, dont mean to gush too much! LOL!)
athlete:
its great to hear about “american” footballers in places outside the USA.
Yes, we call it American football… because in Europe it’s only 1 type of football that counts: football. (soccer :P)
I have to say that I have no idea what american football is(ok, its people with big pads running with a strange ball, kicking it over a wire or something), what the rules are, and so on. I have never seen a game on TV, just maybe 1 little clip in whole my life.
This is the situation for many in Europe… just shows how different we are
“Football” …
US = American Football
Austrailia = Aussie Rules / Footy
Most Europe = Soccer
Ireland = Gaelic Football
UK = Rugby Football
ive travelled extensively in europe and the reason i put “american” is because i realize that is what it is called there.
i actually enjoy and respect all variations of the game called “football”:)thanks no23!
although the games are different-we can all benefit from very similar training, with some difference in priorities.
hey, if you havent watched the american version of football and you like extremely hard collisions and contact at high velocity then this game might be for you! its intense…
I agree athlete,
Some of the most extraordinary sporting things I have ever seen have been on a “football” field …
As you said we can all learn from the greats of all Football sports …
Walter ‘Sweetness’ Payton - American Football
Jason Akermanis - Aussie Rules
Zinede Zidan - Soccer
Anthony Tohill - Gaelic Football
Christian Cullen - Rugby Football
etc. etc.
no23, just correcting you:
Zinede Zidan - Soccer
It should be Zinedine Zidane 
Sunday 05.11.03
No football game today, we had a bye for Mother’s Day. Rainy outside. I am still fatigued from my two conscutive CNS days late last week.
Monday 05.12.03
Speed day
Sprints
20yd 3r @ 100%
30yd 3r @ 100%
50yd 3r, easy acceleration, 10yd flying
Plyometrics
depth jumps 18" 6r x 2s
EMS
-10r ea abs, low back, glutes, hamstrings, quads and feet
Muscles felt recovered, but CNS was still drained. Not particularly fast today. Skipped weights, need more recovery time.
Tuesday 05.13.03
Agility
-easy warmups
-some patterns and skill work
Med Ball throws
-10ea side, overhead, check pass
Wednesday 05.14.03
Tempo
5r x 3s, 100m @ 65%
pushups 20r x 2s
abs 20r x 4s
Recovery
-whirlpool 10 min
-sauna 10 min
-contrast showers 5 min
Thursday 05.15.03
Speed day
Sprints
-20yd 5r @ 100%
-40yd 2r @ 100%
-50yd 2r, easy acceleration, flying 10
-40yd 2r @ 100%
They were setting up for a track meet, so took the opportunity to do some flips into the high jump crash pad
Weights
-squat (touch and go) 90% 3r, 100% 1r, 105% 1r!, 100% 2r, 100% 2r, 95% 3r
-bench 85% 1r, 90% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r, 4r
-pullups 6r x 2s
-SLDL 80% 6r, 5r (hamstring slightly sore, so stopped)
EMS
-same as Monday
Recovery
-contrast showers
Pretty fast today. Felt recovered from my last speed workout although I’m in the last week of my 3-1-3 cycle, so I expect to see some improvements once I start to taper my lifting. Left foot a bit sore
Friday 05.16.03
Rainy outside
Tempo at indoor pool
Recovery
-whirlpool
-sauna
-contrast showers
Originally posted by ali_p83wr
And xlr8, here was me thinking every American player was an All-Pro when it came to working out!
Many do work very, very hard. One of the biggest problems is that often their training is misdirected and the best players often succeed in spite of their training, not because of it.
That’s in addition to struggling through coaches misguided attempts to condition their players through the use of long slow runs and gassers.
Looking forward to hearing more about the training you have been doing! Its been inspirational (sorry, dont mean to gush too much! LOL!)
Thanks!
X,
Can you expound on your 3-1-3 weight cycle? I see you hit it pretty heavy this week.Is this the end of the cycle?
I know you talked about always leaving some fuel in the tank.I would imagine you don’t hit intensities like this very often.
load,
You got it! That was the last week of my max strength cycle, so I hit it as hard as possible. Interestingly enough, the weights actually went up pretty easily last week and even through the weights were heavy, they didn’t feel too bad.
I’ll be in maintenance mode for my strength training from now up until the combines.
no23 sent me a bunch of (good) questions about my training. I thought I would post the questions and answers here in case anyone else was interested
- During your Weight training - How fast is are the concentric and eccentric phases?
I am as quick and explosive as possible on the concentric phases. I use compensatory acceleration for all movements where practical. I have found that focusing on bar speed espacially for the bench press has made a big difference in my strength levels. For the eccentric portion, I stay controlled so that I don’t bounce at the bottom and also so that I am in a good position to explode for the concentric. I find that if I go too fast on the eccentric, then I sometimes get out of the groove and that makes the concentric part of the lift harder.
- Do the reps speed vary between the 3-1-3 phases of the Vertical integration model?
Nope, see above. I always move the weight as fast as possible. However, obviously when I’m working at 80%, the weight is moving faster than when I am near a max, but the intent is always to move it quickly. I also do not grind out slow reps. If I am near a max and I can’t get the weight moving at a reasonable pace, I will stop that set and lower the weight.
- At the end of a 3-1-3 phase do you take 1 or two weeks recovery and maintainance?
I go right into a maintenance phase. I’m still working out exactly what this looks like but basically I think I’m going to keep the weights at around 80 - 90% for 3 sets of 1 - 3 reps. For this combine training, my schedule worked out such that I had time for two 3-1-3 cycles. I put two week of maintenance between them, but I’m not sure that was optimal. I felt like I struggled a lot more with the second cycle.
- Do the 3 week cycles look ‘something’ like this -
Week 1- 80%, 85, 90, 85, 80
Week 2- 85%, 90, 95, 90, 85
Week 3- 90%, 95, 100, 95, 90 ?
Actually, my goal % are as follows:
Week 1 - 80%
Week 2 - 85%
Week 3 - 90%
Week 4 - 90% (drop volume by 25%)
Week 5 - 90%
Week 6 - 95%
Week 7 - 100+%
Within each workout, I will do some sets with lower weights and if I feel good, I may do some with higher weights. It depends on my recovery state and how the track workout went.
- Do you follow a strict 5 set approach?
No, it may usually end up at around 5 sets, but it take a number of warmup sets to get to the working sets (usually 3) plus I sometimes will go up to 6 working sets or as low as 3 or 4. For maintenance, I will use 3 working sets.
- When - or what rules do you apply for set/rep calculation?
I always try to leave a few reps in the gym. I find that I can usually achieve about 3 reps for 80% and 85%, 2 reps for 85%, 90% and 95% and 1 rep for 95% and 100+% while avoiding failure. Generally after a warmup (say 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 2) I will do a set at around 80 or 85% as my first working set, then jump up to my max % for that day for a set of 1 or 2. Then back off by 5% and do another set, then jump back up to the max, then drop, etc. I will usually finish up with a set of 2 or 3 at 80% or 85%. I find that the oscillation near the max lets me hit a heavy weight, then focus on bar speed with a slightly lighter weight, then go back heavy again trying to keep the same speed.
- Did you post an .xls type Training plan other than the post of the 5-2-03?
I have one, but didn’t post it. It’s not as pretty as the others plus I find that a highly detailed plan is not useful. Generate your main training blocks and phases (you can do this with a pencil and paper quite easily), then at the start of each week, figure out what you will do on what days based on the phase (mesocycle) that you are in, then at the start of each day figure out what you will actually do based on your recovery state, weather, etc.
- I was just wondering how you planed to vary/increase/periodise the volumes of exercise.
I used the 3-1-3 cycle as a guide for my weights. I have had a harder time doing this with my sprint work. I have been trying to use total volume of sprint work in meters to gauge it, but a 50m easy acceleration is quite different than a full out 40yd dash. Overall, I have tried to keep the total CNS load relatively constant. The measure for this is subjective (how I feel) so I’m hoping that my training has increased my overall tolerance and the volume of CNS work has actually risen. I’m getting close to the point where I need to start tapering it off so as to reach a peak.
So, if the goal is a generally constant percieved CNS load, then obviously, as the intensity of weight work increases, the amount of quality sprinting goes down. Now that I am into maintenance on my weight work, I will be increasing quality sprint work and plyo volume. I haven’t got this to an exact science yet and this is my first year trying to put everything together in a sound vertical integration plan, so I figure that I am making mistakes. I will try to learn from them and do better next season.
- How do you chose the variation or selection of exercises for each session?
I really like doing the big basic exercises, so if I could, I would do them every time. However, I try to not do the exact same lifts two sessions in a row and often times, small nagging injuries will cause me to do variations. Basically, I consider squat and bench as my foundation. I like the olympic lifts but only do them if I feel energetic since they take so much our of you. I like snatches better than cleans, but alternate (if I did snatches last session, then I will do cleans on the next.) With squats, I would probably do them ever session, but I have had pain in my hip flexor that only shows up when I do deep squats, so I have been using variation for almost the entire training block. Box squats, deadlifts, and touch-n-go bench squats don’t bother the flexor, so I’ve been using those variations. For bench, I usually alternate between regular bench and dumbbell bench to help save my shoulders. Most guys I know who straight bar bench heavy more than once a week end up blowing out their shoulders.
- What is your base exercise list from which you select?
power snatch, power clean
squat, box squat, deadlifts, snatch-grip deadlifts, touch-n-go bench squats
straight-bar bench, db bench, incline straight-bar bench
low rows, pullups, t-bar rows
military press, behind neck press
SLDL, good morning, jackknifes
- You decided to change from a MWF CNS or Speed day approach to a T&T pattern - why - did your team training or skill work start then?
The football season started, so I am playing games on Sundays. A game qualifies as a CNS day, so T/Th gives me the required rest between sessions. It also give me an extra day of recovery before game day to get a mini-peak. I have also been playing around with my CNS days because as my training has gotten more intense, I haven’t felt like I’ve been getting full recovery between sessions.
- Do you do Calesthenics every Tempo day?
Yes, at least pushups and situps. I am also planning on adding in a sprint warmup consisting of A-skips, B skips, etc.
- Is the pace fast or moderate?
Moderate. I was probably doing them too fast early in the season and instead of facilitating recovery, they were wearing me down. I now do them very easy to help me get ready for the next day speed session.
- Are the depletion sets?
Don’t do them. I don’t like to go to failure since I think it can easily lead to overtraining. Since I have been struggling to recover sufficiently anyway I am avoiding depletion sets.
- I haven’t got around to getting an EMS kit yet - I know stupid - but it is worth the $ ?
I don’t know. I hate using it. I got one that has only 4 leads, so it take forever to get through all of the body parts, plus it is intensely painful. It feels like your muscle is cramping although this gets better/more tolerable after you use the device more often.
- How has your body weight changed over the training cycle - the last few months - body comp, fat, muscle etc?
I was at around 205 - 210 at the start of my training. Right now I’m at about 200 - 205. I have always had a problem with building muscle in my upper body. I tend to be lean and my put on all of my muscle in my lower body. I don’t have access to body fat % measurements, but my overall weight has gone down and I am a bit leaner than I was. My waist size has dropped and my strength has increased, the thing is, I didn’t start out very far from where I wanted to be with respect to weight and body fat so I really haven’t focused on manipulating them to any significant degree. I simply decided to do my training, eat clean and figured that my size would take care of itself. I think most of my adaptations to the strength training have been neural in nature which is what you would expect with a low rep protocol. This is good because it means that my strength to weight ratio improves.
- I would be hoping to gain a little weight and would like to know how best to tweak the program to do such.
I would probably spend a bit more time working with sets of 6. This isn’t quite into the hypertrophy range, so you will still build ‘functional’ mass but is high enough to add some weight. The other way to do it would be to put in a hypertrophy training block (preferably at the start of your macrocycle) and do sets of 8 in typical body builder fashion. I think this is what Charlie talks about with the accumulation phase.
- Do you work on extremities at all - wrists, calfs, arms etc. - I’m not talking about for the beach - but they would be important for contact etc - or do the Oly Lifts take enough care of them?
No, unless you feel like they are a significant weakness, I think that they are covered as part of the big compound lifts and sprinting/jumping. The only ancillary exercise I do is for my neck. Also, for contact, I do spend some time every week (usually between tempo runs) doing tumbling drills to get used to hitting the ground softly.
- JS (Jay Schreoder) mentioned in a vid clip that when Adam came to him he wanted to sprint fast and had poor hamstrings and glutes.
He started building them up with a variety of exercises -
Which do think are the best?
Deep squats, olympic lifts, deadlifts. If you want something more focused on the posterior chain, then I like SLDLs and good mornings. Of course sprinting itself is a great way to work on this strength as well. Remember, weights are general in nature. You are simply trying to provide a larger envelope of capability with the weights, then you sprint to learn how to use the extra horsepower.
- Can you explain the ‘Jacknife’ exercise please.
This is just a good morning done in a smith machine. You can lean back into the bar more, and raise your toes since you don’t have to worry about balance. It looks like a jackknife. I do these when I don’t have the mental energy to do one of the ‘real’ posterior chain exercises (SLDL or good morning.)
- Jays explosive/ballistic approach relies on supercompensation - do you think he uses something similar to a 3-1 approach or would it be possibly 2-1?
I don’t know. That was my biggest complaint about his DVD…there was no guidance as far as progression or planning.
- Have you employed any ballistic type training other than the Plyometrics and depth jumps?
In the past, yes. For this macrocycle, no. I see all of this force training as a continuum. At one end is max strength training (squats, bench) at the other end is max speed training (sprints) in between there are a host of other methods than are somewhere between. Here’s my (not comprehensive) list in order from velocity focused to strength focused.
Sprinting
Plyos
Jump squats
Olympic lifts
Power lifts (squat, bench)
Improving your max strength will have an impact on your sprinting and vice-versa, but not forever (else powerlifters would be the fastest guys in the world) so there are other factors such as rate of force development, etc. but in general, if you are working at a couple of points along this continuum, I think you can expect to see steady improvements. This does not mean that you need to work at all points here. I have chosen to work at the two end points and put in a bit of work to the inside of each end point. People like ColCoolJ work more in the middle.
- Do you undertake any Upper body Plyo’s
Not recently. It is quite hard on your shoulders. I do clap pushups once in a while.
- How do you ensure against muscle imbalance between hamstrings and Quads? - Or have you had any trouble with Hams ?
I don’t do anything special. I think the training routine takes care of it. I have been blessed with fairly strong hamstrings (touch wood) and don’t have any chronic problems. I am also careful to monitor them while working out and am not afraid to shut it down if I feel something.
- How much core work do you do?
Well, virtually everything can be considered core work since sprinting and all of the big lifts stress the core sigificantly, but that is probably not what you meant.
I like doing med ball work. I have found that this helps both my throwing in football and my agility. I have been doing my ab work during tempo, but I’m not convinced of the utility of hundreds of crunches. I was also doing a bunch of side bends and machine rotations because last season during a kick return, I pulled a muscle deep in my side (probably because my core wasn’t strong enough.) So I vowed that I would work it hard and that would never happen again.
Wow. Good Questions and Great Responses